Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)

Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)
Debut	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Created by	Zack Snyder
Portrayed by	Jesse Eisenberg
Statistics
AKA	Lex Luthor, Lex
Classification	Alive
Affiliation	LEXCORP
Relatives	Alexander Joseph Luthor, Sr.
Abilities	Genius Intelligence, Scientifc genius, Billionaire, Vast resources and vast manipulations, Expert bowler

Alexander Joseph Luthor, Jr., or simply "Lex" and, commonly known as "Lex Luthor", is the main antagonist of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Luthor is a megalomaniacal billionaire and CEO of the tech company, LexCorp. Although he is one of the smartest people on the planet, he has developed an unhealthy obsession with Superman, who he sees as an alien intruder. Violently jealous of Superman's power, he is fixated on defeating and destroying Superman by any means necessary, no matter what stands in his path.

This incarnation of Luthor is portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg in the DC Extended Universe franchise, making his debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He has also appeared in both the theatrical and director's cut of Justice League.

Early Life[]

Subjected to physical and psychological abuse at the hands of his emotionally distant father in his childhood, the young Lex was driven mad by the absence of a savior that could protect him from the pain. And so when a godly figure like Superman arrives on the scene, Luthor has already been firmly molded into a decidedly wrathful misotheist.

Sometime in his adulthood, he inherited his father's company, LexCorp.

In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice[]

Manipulations[]

Luthor is first seen at LexCorp, being visited by Senator Finch. Lex reveals to her that he used a small fragment of kryptonite on the corpse of General Zod, leading to rapid decomposition. He asks for her permission to import a larger chunk of kryptonite for further testing. After the meeting, Luthor asks for access to the wreckage of the Kryptonian ship and Zod's corpse for further testing, which is granted. With this permission, Luthor enters the military facility in which the ship is stored. Secretly, he cuts off Zod's fingerprints with a kryptonite fragment which has been shaped into a blade.

Luthor later has a business dinner with Senator Finch, who tells him that she is denying him permission to import the kryptonite, claiming that she knows that Luthor is not planning to import it merely for testing purposes.

Bruce Wayne finds out that the Russian terrorist, Anatoli Knyazev, has contact to Luthor ever since that he works for him as his personal henchman. He decides to investigate Luthor and, conveniently, is told by Alfred that he has received an invitation to a charitable function Lex holds at his villa. Bruce joins the gala and briefly listens to Luthor's speech in which Luthor talks about gods. He then heads away from the public to plant a bug in Luthor's server room. Meanwhile, Luthor has a twitchy fit onstage and ends his speech before he can do harm to his image. This seems to be ignored by the crowd, who greet Luthor's speech with applause. During the gala, it comes to a heated conversation between Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne. Luthor intervenes, jovially introducing both men and claiming how he loves to bring people together. After brief small talk with Wayne, Luthor invites Wayne to meet with him some point, claiming that they could work together. Luthor is then told by his assistant Mercy Graves that the governor is waiting and he leaves the two.

Destroying the Capitol[]

Luthor also pays the bail for Wallace Keefe, a Wayne Enterprises worker that was rendered paraplegic during the destruction Zod's and Superman's fight caused. After bringing Keefe out of jail, Luthor provides him with a wheelchair. Animated by Luthor, Keefe meets with Senator Finch and convinces her to invite Superman to the hearing at Capitol Hill to meet those he has harmed in the fight against Zod. From the information from Luthor's server, Bruce Wayne finds out that Luthor is smuggling the kryptonite rock to Metropolis on board the ship White Portuguese. Wayne decides to steal the rock from Luthor to form it into a weapon against Superman, ironically the same plan Luthor has for it. While pursuing Luthor's men, Batman is stopped by Superman. With Batman prevented from taking it, the kryptonite is delivered to Luthor.

Shortly before the hearing, Luthor sends Graves in to hold him a seat. He then approaches Senator Finch, coldly remembering her how she stopped his plans to build a weapon against Superman because she was weak. Senator Finch storms off after being told that Superman has indeed arrived for the hearing and before she is gone, Luthor tells her that the oldest lie in America is that power can be innocent. Despite sending Mercy in for the hearing, Luthor doesn't enter himself, rather leaving the building while Superman enters it. Although Graves is perplexed, she remains seated. Moments later, the hidden explosives Luthor planted inside Keefe's chair go off, killing Finch, Graves and everyone else inside the building except Superman. This leaves Superman blamed by the public, sending him into exile. When Luthor returns to LexCorp, he finds that the kryptonite has been stolen and that a Batarang has been left in its place. The same night, Lex enters the kryptonian ship again, accidentally activating it and thus gaining access to its database.

With help from the ship's database, Luthor analyzes the genetic material of Zod. He then cuts himself in the hand, dripping the blood onto Zod's corpse. Although the ship's A.I. warns Luthor that the High Council of Krypton has forbidden the creation of the creature Luthor is about to produce, Luthor overrides this security measure by stating that the High Council had been destroyed. The ship then morphs Zod's and Luthor's DNA, resulting in the creation of Doomsday, a powerful ,deformed monstrous artifically bred creature.

The Battle of The Titans[]

Luthor sends his men to kidnap Martha Kent and has his henchman Anatoli Knyazev capture Lois Lane. He has Knyazev bring Lane to the roof of LexCorp, where Luthor is waiting. Lois, who has been able to prove Luthor's involvement in Nairobi, is thrown off the roof by Luthor but caught mid-air by Superman who has returned to the city. Unbeknownst to both, this was exactly what Luthor had expected. After ensuring Lois' safety Superman flies back up to the roof to face Luthor. Superman tells Luthor that he will bring him in, but Luthor, ranting about how Superman stands above everything like a god, reveals that he knows Superman's identity and that he wants for the world to see Superman as the fraud he is. Pointing at the bat-signal shining in the sky in the distant Gotham City, Luthor reveals that he expects for Superman to fight Batman to the death. Superman asks if Luthor really expects Superman to fight for him and Luthor confirms it, revealing that Martha would die should he refuse.

Shocked, Superman falls to the ground in front of Luthor, but immediately demands to know where Martha is. Luthor states that he has forbidden his henchmen from telling him but assures Superman that his mother would die should he attack Luthor or try to fly off, his only chance of saving Martha being to kill Batman and to bring Luthor his head. Luthor gives Superman one hour and then flies off in his helicopter. Luthor's continuous manipulation of Batman and Superman eventually leads to a battle between the two. Superman tries to reason with him but Batman pushes through with the fight. While Superman has the initial advantage, Batman's kryptonite gas grenades weaken him, enabling Batman to get the upper hand. However, before Batman can impale Superman with a kryptonite spear, Superman reveals that his mother is being held hostage, with Lois arriving to explain Luthor's manipulation. Teaming up with Superman to save Martha and defeat Luthor, Batman locates Knyazev's mobile phone in a warehouse and takes out his men and the Russian himself, saving Martha Kent.

Releasing Doomsday, Superman's Apparent Death, and Defeat[]

Meanwhile, in a final encounter, Superman enters the Kryptonian ship where Luthor is awaiting his return. Upon seeing that Superman comes without a corpse, he calls Knyazev's phone but reaches Batman. Superman tells Luthor that he has lost but Luthor disagrees, declaring that if man doesn't kill God, the devil will do it. He then releases Zod's mutated resurrected corpse, which he calls Doomsday and the beast starts fighting Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, resulting in a lengthy and destructive battle through the entire city. Using the kryptonite spear, Superman kills Doomsday, but also dies in the process himself. Luthor is arrested for his crimes.

While in prison, Luthor is visited by an enraged Batman. Luthor plans to invoke the insanity plea so he'll be declared unfit to stand trial, only for Batman to reveal he's arranged for Luthor to be transferred to Arkham Asylum in Gotham. As Batman leaves, Luthor cryptically declares that "the bell has been rung" and a new threat is coming to earth.

Escape[]

Shortly after Batman and Wonder Woman successfully bring together a group of metahumans to protect the world from the forces of Apokolips led by Darkseid's disgraced general Steppenwolf and resurrect Superman from death, Luthor escapes Arkham Asylum and goes into hiding. He gets in touch with the mercenary Slade Wilson, otherwise known as Deathstroke, and proposes they create a "league of their own" against this new Justice League.

Personality[]

This incarnation of the character is a vicious, manipulative, sadistic, and psychotic egomaniac - moreso than previous incarnations of the character in Superman adaptations. He is depicted as an evil genius with vast resources and vast manipulations over people.

Being abused as a child had deeply damaged Lex psychologically, and the fact that no benevolent and all-powerful protector intervened to save him from such hardship molded Lex into a firmly wrathful misotheist hateful of the very concept of God. And so when a godly figure like Superman arrives on the scene, this immediately gives Lex an easy target to vent his rage upon. Lex is determined above all else to prove to the world that Superman is a fraud and destroy him to prove that man can kill God.

In addition to exhibiting textbook symptoms of sociopathic and narcissistic personality disorder, this iteration of Luthor also displays symptoms similar to those of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and/or autism spectrum disorder, due to his manic behavior and his somewhat rambling speech patterns.

Quotes[]

"Now we know better the truth don't we? Devils don't come from hell beneath us, no, they are coming from the sky." - Luthor compares Superman to a devil who comes from the sky.

"Do you know what the oldest lie in America is, Senator? That the power can be innocent." - Luthor to Senator June Finch.

"And now you will fly to him ,and you will battle him to the death. Black and blue. FIGHT NIGHT! The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: God versus man, Day versus Night, Son of Krypton versus the Bat of Gotham!" - Lex manipulating Superman into battling Batman to the death if he wants to save Martha.

"NO, NO, I cannot let you win! So, if man won't kill God, the Devil will do it!" - Lex shows to Superman his new creation, Doomsday to destroy him.

"The clock is ticking! He's here, he's coming! Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! And he knows!" - Luthor, while in prison, tells Batman that a new threat will come to Earth.

Trivia[]

This is the seventh live action iteration of the character.
In the movie, Luthor is 31 years old, four years younger than Superman.
Before Eisenberg was cast in the role, Mark Strong, Bryan Cranston, Billy Zane and Joaquin Phoenix were all considered for Lex Luthor.
Much like the film, Eisenberg received a harsh critical reaction from the film critics. However, he garnered massive praise by the audiences, praising him for being such a psychotic and crazy villain, comparing him to Heath Ledger's Joker.